Tag Archives: pagan

The Wishing Well at Osmotherly

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The Saint John's Well, Mount Grace Priory, Yorkshire

The Saint John’s Well, Mount Grace Priory, North Yorkshire

Last weekend Mike and I went looking for one of the “lost” water shrines in North Yorkshire. There are many of these places, though they are fast disappearing– blocked up, trashed and forgotten.  Yorkshire Holy Wells and Sacred Springs by Edna Whelan and Ian Taylor, now out of print, is a wonderful resource.  Though the information in this gem of a book is now over twenty years old, it is still and invauluable aid to finding these magical places.

Mike in the bluebell glade

Mike in the bluebell glade

To reach Saint John’s Well, also called “The Wishing Well” one must traverse a forested hill misted with bluebells–a marker of ancient woodland. The equally ancient path, no doubt trod by countless well-wishers, is now blocked by many felled trees. The hike is not easy but also not impossible.

The photo above shows the well house secreted away in its gully now densely upholstered with decades of leaf mould. The water inside was clean and clear, though leaves blocked the entrance. It resembles a little house with a fairy door. It is not hard to imagine that this was built to house a genius loci.  One is tempted to return and clean this place– it wouldn’t be hard to return it to its former order.

The water here formerly supplied Mount Grace Priory–itself a sacred site. The restored Lady Chapel behind the Priory is said to be a site of miraculous healings. (See Yorkshire Holy Wells site).  The well predates the priory as a water shrine.  Though there is no written record of this, the landscape and folk customs make their own argument.

William Grainge in his 19th century writings on the Vale of Mobray explains that this well was the depository of wishes: “Even yet to this font come young men and maidens to breathe or whisper or wordless sigh the secret but ardent wishes of their heart…” This ritual included an ivy leaf with a bent pin stuck through it, tossed into the water.

Me at the well house, St. John's Well, Mount Grace Priory

Me at the well house, St. John’s Well, Mount Grace Priory

Many wells are called “pin wells” because of this practice. Why bent pins? Altering an ordinary object, destroying its original use, marks it as a talisman. In the Middle Age coins intended as offerings were bent in order to mark them as such– this practice continued for hundreds of years. It appears in the nursery rhyme–

There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile.

He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile.

He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,

And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

Throughout my journeys to various sacred sites I have often found little poems, flowers or coins left on stiles or near the sites themselves. Could the crooked sixpence be an offering left? And the crooked man and his odd cat and house be a cunning one (Ok, some say this rhyme is about Scotland and England in the 17th century, but could it be about something else as well.)

Some say the bent pins were offered to the fairies as elfshot. We found no such offerings in the dark water that day but the generations of longings and hopes left here for safekeeping were unmistakably present.

Bluebell earrings, inspired by fairy landscapes, available in my Etsy Shop

Bluebell earrings, inspired by fairy landscapes, available in my Etsy Shop

Sparks Fly from her Fingertips

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Spiral Promise Ring.

Spiral Promise Ring.

Through the Christmas rush I’ve had a kind of breakthrough. It has to do with new skills, new magic tricks. It all seems to be summed up in this humble ring– the “spiral promise”– because the wires seem to endlessly circle each other and because it reminds me of a simple love token. I made one of these for myself– which is how most of my designs begin. I thought, it’s so humble, what would it mean to anyone who regularly collects my designs? And yet I wore mine every day and came to love it.  Little by little I have been introducing these new pieces that feel much more personal.

When I opened the shop I was recreating the vintage pieces I had to sell off, one by one, because I could not find work in Yorkshire. I still love the Victorian and early 20th century Bohemian influences and have kept those percolating through my design imagination, but then something else crept in, something I wasn’t expecting. This early 70s witchy woman muse showed up, with her hand forged boldness and her raw stones.

This is primal stuff– the first memories of adornment are of this crazy ankh necklace made of railroad nails which my mother wore. The thing looked dangerous and puzzling, a powerful piece! So I’m on a journey back to my roots.

I have always loved wire wrapped links, and as my designs have progressed they have formed the basis of almost all my pieces.  Now I have explored using different metals, pickling them in various solutions, hammering and bending. The deliberation of a simple metal spiral reminds me of binding spells and of the Celtic and Viking adornment which is very much of the place where I live now, its ancient history.

Things are changing. There is more of me in this new work– more of my hand, my heart and will. I hope you will come with me on this journey.

The Hare and the Moon

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Egyptian Heiroglyph for hare also means "to be".

I have been to Whitby many times for the Gothic Weekend twice a year– this year will be the first year I will be attending as a dealer!  Look for me in the Leisure Centre if you will be there.

Near the Shambles in Whitby, there used to be a shop with green shutters painted with three hares. That little Pagan shop has moved and the three hares are now painted over, but it was the first place I saw this sacred image. The hares form a triquetra, or three cornered shape, representing the three aspects of the Goddess– later adopted by the Christian faith to represent the Holy Trinity.

They are a riddle, these “rotating rabbits”– three hairs, each with two ears, yet they only share three. This image originated in the cave temples of China, and traveled along the Silk Road to England. Sometimes called “Tinner’s Rabbits”, the symbol was adopted by tin miners in Devon.

But the three rabbits also decorate mosques, and the appearance of this traveling symbol in synagogues may be a reference to the Jewish diaspora.

Hares have been associated with the Virgin Mary– and most likely is attached in ancestral memory to an older Goddess, one associated with the moon and lunar cycles.  In Chinese Folklore the Moon Rabbit is said to be pounding out the elixir of immortality in a mortar for the moon Goddess Chang’e. The Aztecs also have a moon rabbit legend as well as many other cultures. Some say you can see this rabbit by looking at the shadows on the moon which form its shape.  One wonders if the moon gazing hare is looking up to see its big goddess in the sky– it’s a nice image to contemplate at this time of year.  At least, I like to think on it.

In the days before special effects, the optical illusion of the three ears must have had been amplified with a kind of shifting mystery. These rabbits turn and turn in the mind, spinning the wheel of the year toward spring.

As an aside, I have been listening to the neo folk band, The Hare and the Moon a lot lately– they describe themselves as “spook folk”.  You might like to give them a listen! http://www.myspace.com/thehareandthemoon

Blessed Spring Equinox, dear reader!

The Hare and the Moon, Labradorite and Pewter Earrings by Feral Strumpet on Etsy.

The White Rose of York

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The minster illuminated with white roses. Photo by Kippa Matthews

Every place has its symbol that defines it, captures its genius loci.

In London I worked in the City for a spell– one of the darker times in my life. I would often look to the guardian of that place– the pizzled dragon with its heraldic erection, and wonder.   To survive the alienation and everyday struggle I would often call on dark things to help me.  They were always there, waiting.

The York Rose

What a contrast now to find the sigil of this city, York, to be a white, five petaled mandala.  I fell in love with it when I first saw it.  Though the history dates back to the House of York in the 14th century and the War of the Roses in the 15th century, it was really the Victorians who popularized the symbol.  Great urban planners they were (though they tried to take down the city walls!) But they were also sentimentalists, and the white rose as a municipal symbol seems uniquely Victorian.

Of course the rose is the Christian symbol representing Mary– and where Mary is, we are sure to find also a much older goddess that predates Christianity. The rose is a pagan symbol– with its five petals like the five arms of the pentagram. Their cyclical, spiraled structure suggests the unfurled labyrinth of faith.

White Rose of York earrings by Feral Strumpet on Etsy

Lucky 13

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Beautiful Tattoo Designs by Sarah Antoinette Martin: http://sara-land.blogspot.com

Above is a collection of designs by tattoo artist Sarah Anoinette Martin– if you are lucky enough to live in Brooklyn!

Today is Friday the 13th, a day that always felt a bit lucky.  Maybe it’s just the contrarian in me!  Friday is Freya’s day. There are 13 lunar cycles in a year.  13 witches in a traditional coven.  In a baker’s dozen, it means that extra cupcake.

To celebrate, I’m holding a one day sale in my Etsy Shop– everything is 13% off.  Use coupon code FRIDAY13.

Lucky Cat Earrings by Feral Strumpet on Etsy. All profits from these go to the RSPCA.

Chasing Sparks

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Today marks the new year in the old Julian calendar and in a small fishing village in Scotland this occasion is marked by an old fire ritual called the Burning of the Clavie.  A tar barrel is set alight and carried through the old boundaries of the village– the construction of the clavie is guided by strict tradition– no “stranger” may touch it; nothing must be purchased to make it.  No modern matches are used; the peat for ignition must already be alight. Tar is then poured over the blaze before it is carried by the initial bearers.  As the procession winds through the town, the barrel must change hands, as no one could stand the heat for too long.  Were the bearer to stumble or fall it would be a bad omen.  Once the procession arrives at Doorie Hill, the flaming Clavie is put into a stone pillar, where more tar is poured over it. The fire spreads and grows tall. Onlookers chase after the flaming fragments flying out from the blaze, as streams of flaming tar pour down the hill.  If one is lucky enough to catch a piece of the blaze, and risk burnt fingers for a charred relic– it’s put up the chimney to ward off meddling spirits.

Little Embers, earrings by Feral Strumpet on Etsy.

Cold Moon

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A Cold Moon Treasury on Etsy

As part of Esbat celebrations, I’ve created a treasury for the Cold Moon with some of the beautiful handmade items available on Etsy.  With this moon in mind, it’s time to hibernate, conserve energy and respect the rhythms of the seasons.  Now is the time for delicious sleep, embracing the lush darkness and the latent excitement of the threshold to spring.  Small changes, now– sage smudging round the place, epsom salt baths with olive oil and an apple tea bag thrown in. Reading, dreaming of Imbolc. Some black out curtains for the bedroom to block out the jarring yellow street lamp!

Blessed Cold Moon, dear reader!

Queen of the Bean

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The Green Man and Queen Pea, from the Twelfth Night celebrations at the Globe in London, a few years back

It’s the Twelfth Day– do you know where your golden bean is? Traditionally, the head of revelry for this day was chosen by a bean secreted away in a slice of cake, distributed at random or in some cases by a child hiding under the table.

Twelfth Cake-- once a work of confectioners art.

This custom is still celebrated in New Orleans but is no longer part of the seasonal celebrations in the UK, except in some instances of folk revivals.  A king chosen by whim– it’s the stuff of fairy tales as well as the Roman Saturnalia.  It was difficult for me to imagine the psychic necessity of such a celebration, coming from a land where everyone is presumed equal.  Even if the reality in the US is very different, the philosophical idea rules many interactions between people.  Not so in the UK, where rigid ideas of class permeate the culture.

Today is considered “Old Christmas Day” and the last hurrah of the Yule celebrations.  Traditionally, all the decorations are taken down– it’s bad luck to leave them up.  And, in the village of Haxey in Lincolnshire, the Fool and his Boggans corral the inhabitants and bystanders in the mad Hood Game, but that is the subject for another post.

Coffee with your twelfth cake? Queen of the Bean set by Feral Strumpet on Etsy.

Blessed Yule

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It is too dark to work.   The sky is stark and without depth, like the inside of an egg.  Everything will have to wait for the light. All the holiday shipments have been sent, and the post office is peaceful again.  I have run out of many supplies– it has been an amazing first holiday season for the new business. I’m tired, but in a very good way.

Here’s a wonderful musing on Yule from a fellow blogger: http://www.siomonnpulla.com/2011/12/04/the-return-of-the-light-seasonal-reflections-on-christmas-and-new-year/

One day I will make it Stonehenge for the solstice, but not this year.  I will be making tamales this weekend and trimming the little black tinsel tree with potential earring designs and origami.

In the meantime I have made a mixed tape of all my favourite holiday songs: Spotify playlist for Yule. (There is a high dork quotient on this list…you have been warned!)

I wish all my readers bright blessings this Yule!

The Mistletoe Bride set by Feral Strumpet on Etsy

Full Flower Moon Treasury

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Full Flower Moon Treasury on Etsy

I compiled this Flower Moon treasury on Etsy in honor of tomorrow’s esbat.  Right now the cottage garden is alive with an ever-changing array of blooms, like a kaleidoscope of days the spring is passing into summer.  What are you doing this full moon to celebrate?